A source said that the NOC has planned to lift a cargo of crude stored at Es Sider from the Ras Lanuf port at the end of October.

"We hear it's an end of October-loading NOC cargo, and as far we know, they've not found a buyer yet," a crude trader said.

Es Sider has weathered fire damage over the past five years due to the effects of the civil war following the execution of dictator Muanmar Ghaddafi. This makes loading from the site impossible until repairs are complete.

"There is maintenance work going on but how much, it's hard to say. There is no lifting plan yet - but Es Sider could be lifted from both ports," a crude trader familiar with the situation said. With a combined capacity of 560,000 barrels per day, Es Sider and Ras Lanuf represent the largest and third-largest ports in Libya, respectively.

A Seadelta tanker bound for Italy left the port of Ras Lanuf late last month, making it the first export cargo of crude oil to depart Libya since 2014, an oil exports coordinator at the port told AFP at the time. The shipment totaled 776,000 barrels.